


Just To See That Smile

by homosociallyyours



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Asexual Eleanor, Coming Out, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Miscommunication, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-05-07 19:03:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14677494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/homosociallyyours/pseuds/homosociallyyours
Summary: It's Coming Out Week at university, and Harry's taken on a lot of responsibilities to make everything run smoothly. Finding his roommate's boyfriend attractive is making that a bit difficult, unfortunately. It might help if he realized that said boyfriend (Louis) is really just there to help said roommate (Liam) figure out if Liam's crush (Zayn) likes him back.But that would make things too easy.A fic where a hastily faked relationship and a lot of miscommunication almost ruins a perfectly good dance.





	Just To See That Smile

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written as part of an ongoing challenge using the book 1000 Feelings For Which There Are No Names for our prompts. To read the other fics written in this challenge, click [here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/ShortFic_Challenge_For_Which_There_Is_No_Name/works). You can find more information on the challenge and reblog the masterpost on tumblr by clicking here.
> 
> Written for prompt #359: The disappointment that that smile was meant for someone else. 
> 
> The only note I have for this is about including Eleanor, and I hope folks will bear with me. In an interview a while back, Louis was asked if BTY was about Eleanor and his response was something like, "nah, she's ace." And. Well, friends. From now on, any time Eleanor makes an appearance in one of my fics, she's gonna be asexual. I usually say I don't make the rules, but in this case I DO and I'm okay with it. 
> 
> Finally, big thanks to my beta, [angelbabystrange](http://angelbabystrange.tumblr.com) for helping me fix what's wrong, appreciating my terrible jokes, and being the rainbow bear who gets things done. You're the best.

It was just starting to get colder on campus, and Harry was already regretting having volunteered for the LGBTQ Coalition’s PR committee, at least in the capacity of official poster of flyers. He had a stack of fifty flyers, most of which needed to be hung up around designated locations on campus. The others would need to be given to the group’s dorm ambassadors-- residents who were members of the group and who had agreed to find other LGBTQ students and invite them to events personally. He tacked up the first one outside the dining hall and mentally prepared himself for the thirty other locations he had to hit.

By the time he was done, it was getting dark and he was tired from trudging all over campus. He headed back to his room and opened the door, throwing himself onto his bed after setting the flyers down at his desk. He was considering the merits of taking a nap instead of going back to the dining hall when his roommate, Liam, came in talking on his phone.

“Yeah, I know, but you’d be doing me a massive favor. I’ve really g--” he paused when he realized Harry was in the room, clearing his throat before speaking again. “Got to go. But think about it?” He waved at Harry, nodding at whatever the person on the other end of the conversation was saying. “So we’ll text about it then. Yeah. Bye.”

Harry was about to ask who Liam had been talking to, but was cut off when Liam pointed to one of the flyers. “Did you hang these up? I didn’t realize you were in that club,” he said. Judging by his voice, it wasn’t a problem at all and Harry breathed a small sigh of relief.

“Yeah, I joined up right away. But Coming Out Week is apparently when we gain the most membership, so they really try to promote it a lot.” Harry studied Liam’s face for a moment before continuing. “Think you’d want to go to any of the events? I’ll be at most of them if you need a friend there.”

Liam smiled back at Harry, nodding. “Yeah, I’d like that. I’m actually bi?” Though it came out like a question, Harry got what he was saying. It was how Harry had felt about his own sexuality when he started coming out at 16.

“Cool. I don’t like labels, but that’s what’s great about something that’s LGBTQ-- there’s something for everyone. So I know I belong,” Harry said.

“I actually saw one of these posters outside the science building on my way back here,” Liam said, voice getting a bit quieter and a slight blush coloring his cheeks. “I was walking with my lab partner, Zayn, and he pointed it out. Said he was going to the dance for sure and I thought it would be cool to check it out.”

“Ooh, were you going to ask him as a date?” Harry raised his eyebrows suggestively and Liam blushed harder.

“No,” he said, looking back down at the poster. “No, I couldn’t do that.”  
  
“Why not?” Harry asked. “He’s the one you were studying with at the library last week, right? He’s fit. Maybe he was hinting that he wanted to go with you.” Liam was fidgeting a bit, looking as though he might be getting uncomfortable, but Harry pushed a bit further anyway, hoping to be encouraging. “Can’t hurt to ask, I mean what’s stopping you?”

“I’ve got a boyfriend!” Liam said, quickly turning away from Harry and throwing his bag onto his own bed to rifle through it.

“Oh! Sorry, didn’t mean to get pushy,” Harry said, startled by Liam’s news. “Of course that’s great news, though. Think he’ll come around for the dance? Niall lives off campus, so I could stay with him if the two of you need alone time.”

“No, um. I don’t know if he’ll come. Maybe he will.”

“It’d be sick if he could. Do you wanna tell me about him? ‘S ok if you don’t.” Harry didn’t want to push Liam, but this felt like the first thing they were bonding over that wasn’t bad dining hall food or having too much reading to do for class, so he really didn’t want to just drop it either.

“Yeah, sure. We haven’t been together long. But he’s been one of my best mates since we were 10 or so.” Liam was still messing about with his bag, pulling his books out one by one.

“Wow, it’s lucky you had a friend who was queer too. What’s his name?”

“Um. It’s Louis,” Liam said, setting his bag beside his bed and turning back to face Harry. “I’ve got a picture on my phone, if you wanna see him.”

Harry held out his hand and wiggled his fingers, trying to get Liam to pass his phone over. Instead Liam scrolled through his phone on his own and then walked it over to Harry, holding it out for him to look at. Harry snatched it away despite Liam’s protests, promising he wouldn’t scroll through any more pictures on his own.

Louis wasn’t what Harry had expected. Not that he knew what to expect, obviously, but Louis was definitely above and beyond. The picture was taken from a far enough distance that Harry could see from Louis’ waist up. He was wearing a loose fitting grey shirt that exposed his collar bones and biceps along with just a hint of his chest. He was tan and well-muscled but not bulky, with a few black ink tattoos on the skin that Harry could see. His hair was wet in the photo, but he had a bit of fringe that was swept aside that looked soft and pretty. The most striking thing about him, though, were his eyes and his smile. He looked as though he’d been caught laughing, and his lips were turned up with a joy that made the skin around his eyes crinkle into soft lines that perfectly framed his blue eyes. The bright and cloudless sky behind him was almost an exact match for that blue, and Harry was mesmerized. So much so that he was surprised when Liam grabbed the phone out his hand.

“Hey! I was looking at that,” Harry said.

“You looked long enough. Anyway, I’m not really sure he’ll be able to come. Hard to get down here and all,” Liam said, pocketing the phone.

“Why was he all wet? In the picture?” Harry asked, wanting to hear more about Louis, like maybe if he had a twin brother who he could bring around for Harry.

“Oh, our families get together every summer and have a party, and it always ends with a massive water fight. Water guns, water balloons, hoses, buckets. I’d just gotten him with a balloon while he was trying to ambush his sister. He turned around and I got that one. It’s lucky I had a good case around the phone because he totally soaked me after that,” Liam said, laughing at the memory.

“Was that before you two were dating, or after you started?” Harry asked.

“Um. Before,” Liam said slowly, as if he had to think it over. Harry thought that perhaps it was a friends-with-benefits situation that had turned into something more. That was the easiest explanation for why Liam was being so weird about it.

“He doesn’t have a brother, does he?” Harry asked, trying to play it off as though he was joking.

“Yeah, actually,” Liam said. “But he’s a toddler.” He laughed, and Harry gave him a little kick as he laughed along with him.

“I’m gonna go to the dining hall. Wanna join me?” Harry asked, hopping down off his bed.

Liam looked from Harry to his phone and back again. “I’ll meet you there in a few minutes. Just have something I need to do first.”

Harry shrugged and left Liam alone to do whatever it was he needed to do. As he walked across campus to go to dinner, he kept thinking of Louis and his impossibly blue eyes and his bright, crinkly smile. The fact that it was meant for Liam and not for him stung, and he tried to bury it deep enough that he’d be able to ignore it. It wasn’t an easy task.

\--------

Louis: LIIIIIIIIMA  
Louis: wtf were you trying to ask me?  
Louis: hello  
Louis: HELLOOO  
Louis: I’m going to start blowing up your phone if you don’t answer me  
Liam: I’m here sorry  
Liam: Just came out to my roommate!!  
Liam: He was really cool about it  
Louis: that’s great :D  
Louis: baby steps Lima  
Liam: OK  
Liam: don’t be mad at me!!  
Louis: what?  
Louis: the fuck?  
Louis: did you do?  
Liam: I accidentally told him you were my boyfriend and now he thinks you’re going to come for the dance I was trying to tell you about and I’M SORRY  
Liam: He asked me if I was going to ask Zayn and I panicked  
Louis: ok…  
Liam: You’re so mad at me aren’t you?  
Louis: not as mad as I should be  
Liam: :)  
Louis: I know you’re nervous about Zayn but I think you should just ask him  
Liam: I don’t know if he knows that I’m bi  
Louis: Asking him out might clue him in  
Liam: OK but WHAT IF  
Liam: You were here to see if he likes me  
Liam: And inspire confidence  
Liam: And support your best friend in his time of need  
Liam: I need to go meet my roommate for dinner but think about it ok??

Louis: So you want me to pretend to be your boyfriend to help you see if another guy likes you?  
Louis: This sounds like a terrible plan  
Louis: Or the plot of a bad movie  
Louis: But. FINE. I’ll do it  
Louis: YOU OWE ME LIMA

Liam: YOU ARE THE BEST  
Liam: I’ll call you tomorrow to talk about logistics and stuff  
Liam: It’s going to be fun no matter what  
Louis: Of course it will  
Louis: I’ll be there

\----------------

The weeks leading up to Coming Out Week flew by, and Harry got busier the closer it got. He’d somehow managed to end up running the PR committee, and was tasked with promoting movie night as well as designing-- and making --most of the decorations for the dance, including crowns for the Quort (Queer Court) that would be voted on that night and a massive rainbow balloon arch. He barely had time to breathe between all of the preparations and his course load, let alone think about looking for a date. In the end he asked Niall to go as his friend date, which worked out nicely for both of them. They’d each have a dance partner who they could joke around with, but Harry would be able to focus his attention on the dance without feeling neglectful of his date and Niall would be able to flirt with any attractive and available person that he wanted to without upsetting anyone.

Liam had mentioned that his boyfriend would be coming, but was being pretty cagey about it as the dance got closer. Harry was a little worried about having to meet Louis, only because he wasn’t sure how he’d handle watching someone he found that attractive make out with another guy right in front of him. He didn’t think he’d actually do anything about it, but the thought still made him queasy. It was probably for the best that Liam wasn’t bringing Louis up very much.

He had been talking about (and to) Zayn a lot more, though. The two of them were eating together a few nights a week and meeting up to study pretty often as well. Harry had passed by one of their library study dates and watched them pass a sheet of paper back and forth a few times, sharing looks and laughing quietly over whatever it was the other was writing. Harry thought about bringing it up, maybe asking Liam if he and Louis were non-monogamous, but he didn’t want to hear that they weren’t. He’d only end up confronting Liam and telling him to come clean, and that sounded like a pretty messy option.

The night before the dance, after spending several hours inflating balloons and following along to countless youtube tutorials on how to make a balloon arch, Harry was finally ready to get back to his room, do his blackboard assignment, and fall into bed. As he approached the room, he could hear Liam talking just on the other side of the door. “It’s going to be fine, I don’t think he’ll even notice that anything is unusual,” he said as Harry stood gripping the doorknob. He heard Liam laugh. “Yeah, just pretend for this one weekend and I think everything might work itself out if we’re lucky.”

At that, Harry rattled his keys and turned the doorknob, letting himself into the room. Liam hung up his phone, throwing it on the bed and looking at Harry apprehensively. Harry looked back at him, narrowing his eyes and studying his face before saying a quick hello and going to sit at his desk to finish his work. He could hear Liam moving around behind him, occasionally sounding as though he was about to say something only to stop himself.

When Harry climbed into bed, Liam was still awake and texting with someone. For a moment Harry considered confronting him about cheating on his boyfriend, but then he thought better of it. Maybe he’d meet this Louis and find that he was awful and that Liam was better off with Zayn. They did seem like a pretty good match, after all. Then again, Liam had said Louis was an old friend. Harry huffed and sat up, punching his pillow to fluff it up before lying back down. He didn’t sleep well, his dreams all focused on him walking around the dance, trying and failing to make sure everyone was having a good time.

\-----------  
Liam: My roommate is being really weird. I think he’s mad at me?  
Louis: What’d you do??  
Louis: I told you not to do any pranks without running them by me  
Louis: You’re not as good at them as you think  
Liam: Oh haha  
Liam: It’s not that  
Liam: Think he heard us talking? He came in as we were finishing up and he just stared at me  
Louis: Sure he’s not a serial killer who’s been waiting for his moment?  
Louis: Sleep with one eye open, Lima!!  
Liam: I’m serious though he was really mad  
Liam: Barely even talked to me and usually we chat quite a bit when he gets in  
Louis: Are you worried he overheard something about me not being your boyfriend?  
Liam: Maybe?  
Liam: Might need you to play it up a bit more?  
Louis: You were the one who said he wouldn’t notice anything  
Louis: I’m not slipping you tongue, mate  
Louis: We already tried that and it was not good for either of us  
Liam: I KNOW  
Liam: Might have to be more affectionate though?  
Liam: Maybe it won’t matter  
Liam: Wait  
Liam: Oh my God  
Louis: ???  
Liam: He’s punching his pillow like he wishes it was my face  
Louis: One eye open, Lima  
Liam: If I don’t text you tomorrow it’s because Harry killed me  
Liam: For no reason that I could determine :(  
Louis: You’ll be fine. I’ll see you tomorrow and I’ll be Mr. Clingy Boyfriend  
Liam: Just enough to show Zayn I’m bi and make Harry think I’m not a terrible liar who made up a boyfriend to look cool  
Louis: You realize you’re all those things though, right?  
Liam: Goodnight  
Liam: I hate you  
Louis :-*

\-----------

Harry had already been through a few possible outfits for the dance, but none of them was quite right. He was in the middle of changing out of a black t-shirt and jacket combo (too boring) when the door opened. Liam was grinning and Harry could hear laughter coming from behind him. He grabbed the button down shirt that was on his bed and started undoing the buttons to keep himself from looking up.

“Hey Harry! I’m glad you’re here. Meet Louis,” he said brightly, stepping aside to reveal his boyfriend, who was unfortunately even more attractive in person.

After a moment of slightly awkward silence, Louis stepped forward and lifted his hand, first as thought he was going to shake hands with Harry, and then in a strange sort of attempted high five/wave combination that made Harry chuckle. “Hi Louis, good to meet you,” Harry said, putting his arms through the button down and starting to do it up from the bottom.

“And you, Harry. Lima’s told me so much about you. I’m glad he ended up with a roommate who’s out and doing so much in the queer community on campus,” Louis said, looking between Harry and Liam. “S’really great.”

Harry couldn’t help but smile back at him. “Yeah, I was happy to learn he’s bi. It’s good to know you can be honest with your roommate.” He grimaced a bit as he realized what he’d just said, looking at Liam to gauge his reaction. He was looking down at the hem of his shirt, apparently studying a loose stitch. “Anyway, I’m glad you could make it,” Harry said as he turned back to Louis. “Really think the dance is gonna be great.”

Louis asked him a few questions about the dance, listening intently and moving subtly closer to Harry as they spoke. Harry noticed it but did his best to dismiss it as an accident, not wanting to think about the fact that not only was Louis absolutely beautiful, he was also nice and funny and able to carry on a decent conversation.

“So is this the dress code for the dance tonight?” Louis asked, reaching out and trailing his fingers down Harry’s arm, stopping at the rolled cuffs and lightly brushing his wrist. “S’nice,” he said with a nod.

Harry was about to respond when Liam cleared his throat and linked his arm through Louis’. “ _Babe_ ,” he said pointedly, “maybe we should let Harry get ready since he’s needed at the dance early. I can take you around campus a bit.”

Louis pursed his lips as he turned to Liam to respond. “Oh, puppy of course!” He reached up and pinched Liam’s cheeks, then looked back to Harry. “This one just adores me so, _so_ much. And I’m afraid I’m just lost without his attention and affection,” he said, his raspy voice softened with the baby talk. He threw his arm around Liam’s neck and led both of them out of the room, promising Harry that they’d catch up with him at the dance.

When the door closed, Harry looked in the mirror and decided that his outfit was fine. Louis had liked the shirt, anyway, and his dark skinny jeans were a good compliment. He pulled his makeup bag out of his top drawer and sharpened his eyeliner pencil, making careful dark lines around his eyes and then rubbing at them with his ring finger to smooth them out a bit. He grabbed a jacket and headed toward the dance to help finish setting up, thinking about the problem of Liam and Louis along the way.

\-------------

“OK, you didn’t tell me that your roommate is gorgeous, Liam. I swear I might kill you,” Louis said, once they were safely out of the dorm. “I mean you’ve seen my exes, you know my type. It’s him. He’s my type. Mine! And I have to act like _your_ boyfriend all weekend?” He was growing more exasperated by the minute, working himself into a frenzy. Liam just looked back at him, shocked.

“You think Harry is cute? That Harry? I mean, he’s just…” Liam waved his hand around in a vague gesture, “Harry. I didn’t even think about it.”

“Well, you should’ve done. Can’t believe you wouldn’t even let me flirt with him properly up there. If I think Zayn likes you I’m going to make the match myself so I can find comfort in young Harold’s strong embrace,” Louis said, fluttering his eyelashes and throwing his head back dramatically.

“He did seem to think you were cute when I showed him your picture,” Liam said, leading Louis farther from the dorm. “Even asked if you had a brother.” Louis stopped short, pulling Liam to a stop as well.

“You’re joking, right?” Louis asked. Liam’s eyes widened a bit as he shook his head. “I might kill you, you know. I’ll apologize to your family, but when I tell them what you did they’ll understand.” Louis bumped his shoulder against Liam’s and started walking. “I’m going to help you get together with Zayn, and then you’re going to set me up with Harry if he’s still interested. Deal?”

Liam laughed. “Yeah, ‘course mate,” he said, throwing his arm around Louis’ shoulder and poking his ear. “Anything to keep myself alive.”

They walked around campus for a while, just killing time until they went back to the room to get ready. The dance was really getting started when they arrived, couples and individuals lining up to take photos under the balloon rainbow with a variety of props. Louis watched as Liam scanned the room nervously until breaking out into a giant grin. “Alright, Li, which one is he?” Louis asked, trying to follow Liam’s sightline.

“The beautiful one,” Liam said, his expression faraway and fond. Louis poked him in the ribs.

“Not sure your type, love, so you’ll have to at least tell me what he’s wearing.”

Liam gave an exasperated sigh as he turned to look at Louis. “He’s the one in the dark jeans with the sort of spray painted looking t-shirt and a black leather jacket. With the bit of turquoise in his hair.” He’d turned away and was staring again when Zayn seemed to notice him, raising his hand to offer a small wave as he ducked his head to the side shyly.

Louis looked from Zayn to Liam and back again. “Are you fucking with me?” he asked. He laughed as he looked between the two of them again. “You’re practically eye fucking right now. I don’t think he’s even seen me.”

“We’re not--” Liam lowered his voice to a whisper, “eye fucking!” He pulled Louis into the picture line, just out of Zayn’s sight. “We just saw each other. He doesn’t even know I’m bi.”

“Oh, my sweet, young, innocent Lima Bean. That boy,” Louis gestured in Zayn’s general direction, “is very shy and very into you. He’s also disgustingly gorgeous, and I’m afraid if you don’t make a move immediately he’s going to get snapped up right before your eyes, possibly even tonight. My suggestion is that you go over there now and ask him to dance. Or talk. Or kiss. And if he notices me tell him I’m just a friend from home who decided to visit this weekend.”

“But--”

“If I play the boyfriend part I guarantee he’s going to be scared off. We really need to work on your ability to convey the attractiveness of the people you’re talking about. First Harry and now this one.” The line for pictures was moving and Louis grabbed a light blue hanky off a table and shoved it into Liam’s back left pocket. “Bit of free gay advertising, there. Now go.” He shoved Liam out of line and watched him walk away, subtly urging him to keep moving every time he turned around looking as though he was considering coming back to Louis’ side.

Once he couldn’t see Liam, Louis scanned the room trying to spot Harry, but didn’t have any luck. He looked back, noticing the stalled line of people ahead of him, and decided to take his time with the props tables. He began rummaging through them looking for fun things to wear, thinking that if he was going to have a souvenir photo it might as well be a good one. He pulled on a rainbow boa and pair of comically oversized heart-shaped sunnies. He was just about to pick up a fist full of colorful bead necklaces when he felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned and saw Harry standing beside him, a determined look on his face.

\------------

Harry had been on edge since the dance started, watching the door and waiting for Liam and Louis to appear. He’d already seen Zayn come in and considered confronting him, thinking better of it because it was Liam’s side that he really knew. After all, maybe it wasn’t even him that Liam was conspiring with, and there was no use pulling him in if he didn’t really know what was going on.

Unfortunately, Harry was so focused on how he’d deal with Liam that he entirely missed his entrance into the dance, not noticing his presence until he spotted Louis first. He watched as Louis looked back and forth across the dance floor, finally realizing that he was following Liam’s gaze towards Zayn. Their flirtation was obvious, and the fact they were doing it right in front of Louis with no regard for his feelings made Harry irrationally angry. He started moving toward them when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

He turned and saw Eleanor, the head of the ace caucus in the LGBTQ Coalition. “Harry, sorry to bother you, but would you mind relieving Paul at the photo station? He’s in the Quort and needs to get into drag.” She’d been setting up the dance even before Harry arrived and he knew if she was asking that she really needed him to step in.

“Yeah, you’ve got all of the Quort stuff handled, right? I’m sure I can step in for a bit over there.” She smiled at Harry before running off to take care of whatever it was she was handling, and he waited til she’d turned away before looking back to the spot where he’d last seen Liam and Louis. They weren’t there, and he knew there was no way he’d be able to spot them again from the photo area unless they ended up in line, which he didn’t think was likely at all.

Once he’d gotten up to speed on the duties-- have the students enter their email on a tablet, tell them to look at the screen for a countdown that would tell them when to smile and pose for their pictures, keep things from getting out of hand --Paul headed off to get dressed and Harry settled in, greeting the next student in line. He wanted to get a sense of how many people were waiting, and looked up in time to see Liam leaving the line, Louis watching him walk away.

And that was that. He gave the necessary spiel to the next group in line and then handed them the tablet, excusing himself to talk to Louis. He reached out and touched Louis’ shoulder, feeling him tense slightly before he turned around and then watching him break out into a grin.

“Harry! I was hoping I’d run into you,” Louis said, throwing one end of a rainbow boa over his shoulder. “Wanna have a picture with me?”

Harry smiled for a moment, then remembered what he needed to talk to Louis about and felt his spirits fall. “Maybe,” he said. “But first I need to talk with you about something that I overheard. I hate to be the one to do this, but I really like you and--”

“Hmm, you like me? Good information.”

“Umm. We do seem to get on really well, yeah,” Harry said, blushing. “But that’s not it. It’s actually--”

“Hey, sorry mate, but the tablet won’t accept our email address and we don’t want to hold the line up. Think you could fix it?” Two groups had gone through since Harry had come back to speak to Louis, and the couple who were dressed as rainbow bears were holding out the tablet, one looking apologetic and the other mildly annoyed.

“Right, I’ll just--” Harry took the tablet and stared at the screen for a moment before looking back up at Louis. “Come talk to me? I’ll clear this up and then there’s something you should know.” Louis nodded back at him and then turned to look over his shoulder, probably searching the crowd for Liam.

It took a few minutes, but Harry was able to get the tablet unfrozen and accepting email addresses again, and the line started moving once more. He had to wait for a while before Louis was close enough to see, and just as he was about to be within speaking distance, Liam ran up and joined him in line, whispering something in his ear and giving him a kiss on the cheek. Louis turned to him and gave him the most beautiful crinkly-eyed smile, his whole face lit up with it, and Harry felt his stomach drop. Liam didn’t deserve that smile. Not at all.

Harry cleared his throat, but it was hard to hear over the sound of the music from the dance floor, so he stepped into Liam’s space instead. “Awfully affectionate for a lying cheater, aren’t you Liam?” He watched as Liam turned to face him, eyebrows furrowed with confusion and a questioning look in his eyes.

“I’m what?”

“Cheating. On Louis. I didn’t want to tell him this way, but then you just left him so you could go off and talk to Zayn, and I couldn’t keep quiet about it.” Harry was raising his voice, and a few of the people in line around them were starting to stare. “Louis is supposed to be one of your good friends and your boyfriend. And yet you invited him here knowing that you and Zayn were going to pretend nothing was happening and then, what? Just dump him afterwards? It’s rude, Liam. And it’s mean. And I don’t think it’s what Louis deserves at all!”

Around them, everyone had grown quiet and was starting to stare. Harry took a breath and looked between Liam and Louis, taking in their vastly different expressions. Liam was mortified, his mouth hanging open and a sad look in his eyes. Louis, meanwhile, was biting his lip as if trying to hold back a laugh, eyebrows raised in a look of mischief. He was the first one to respond to Harry’s accusations.

“Liam. Darling. Love. Baby. Tell me it isn’t so,” he wailed, grabbing Liam’s wrist. “Tell me you haven’t broken apart our relationship for some handsome boy you barely know.”

“Broken apart-- oh my God, Louis --this is not the time for you to be a shit!” Liam said, pulling his wrist free from Louis’ grasp and turning to Harry. “Harry, I’m so sorry mate, I panicked and lied to you. Louis was never my boyfriend. He’s just my best friend, and I wanted him here to help me see if Zayn actually liked me. And it turns out he does? Which came as a big shock to me, but I guess everyone else thought it was really obvious?”

“But I heard you on the phone last night talking about pretending for the weekend so you could fool someone,” Harry said. He noticed Louis shaking his head.

“Sorry Harry, he was talking to me. I was worried that nobody would believe we were together, especially not someone he lived with,” Louis said. “Obviously that wasn’t the case.”

“So you’re not a couple?”

“We are not a couple,” Louis replied, giving Liam a little shove. “We kissed once and it was like kissing a brother. Not interested, thanks.”

“I’m so sorry, Harry. At least this explains why you were being so weird last night.”

“I feel like such an idiot,” Harry said, putting a hand over his eyes to rub at his temples. “It’s just that I thought Louis was cute, and then I met him and he was actually funny and kind and supportive, and I just got so angry that you’d throw him over like that for someone you’d had a few study dates with. Especially when you got so defensive at first.”

“Yeah, you’re a real dick, Lima. I’m a fucking prize.” Louis linked his arm through Harry’s. “At least Harold here can tell what I’m worth.”

Harry blushed. He hadn’t really meant to completely reveal his crush to Louis in front of a crowd of people at the Coming Out Dance, but apparently that’s exactly what he’d done. Fortunately, Louis didn’t seem to mind it. And Liam actually looked sort of pleased with how things had worked out. Harry was trying to figure out what to do next when the music cut off abruptly, a squeal of feedback making everyone wince before Eleanor’s voice came through.

“We’re going to announce tonight’s Rulers and their elected Quort, if everyone wants to gather ‘round.” She was waving people to the side of the dance floor to clear a spot in the center for the winners.

“Sorry everyone, photo booth closes for the Quoronation,” Harry said, handing the ipad to the photographer and waving everyone up off to the dance floor. “We’ll open it back up after the winning dance.” He turned to Louis and Liam. “Wanna go up together?”

Liam looked away sheepishly. “I actually told Zayn I’d meet up with him, if that’s ok.”

Louis practically shoved him away. “Nothing wrong with that. Find us afterward?” He waited for Liam to nod and turn away, then tugged Harry forward. “Come on, Harry. Keep me company after my terribly public breakup.”

Harry laughed, letting himself get dragged toward the floor. He wasn’t sure how things might end up between him and Louis, so he decided to just enjoy the moment as much as possible. The announcements had already started by the time they reached the outskirts of the crowd, Harry pulling Louis close to him so that he could see over the head of a shorter girl instead of being stuck behind someone in high heels and a tall headpiece. He seemed to fit perfectly against Harry’s side, and it made Harry grip him just a bit tighter.

“That’s an amazing drag queen,” Louis whispered, tilting his head up toward Harry’s ear so that his fringe brushed Harry’s cheek. “This school really knows how to show up for a coming out party.”

“Yeah, we actually had a drag show on Wednesday night. Paul-- that’s him, Paula Mall --did a workshop before and showed a bunch of us how to get into drag. It was really cool.” Harry laughed as Paula pulled a pack of cigarettes from the bump in her hair and shoved several into her mouth at once before accepting the scepter that all the Quort members were getting.

Louis hummed beside him, wrapping an arm around Harry’s waist and tugging at a belt loop on Harry’s jeans. “Wouldn’t mind seeing you in a dress, I’ll admit,” he said, causing Harry to giggle nervously.

“That’s our Quort for this year!” Eleanor said, allowing everyone to applaud for a moment. “Before I announce our co-rulers, I need to recognize this year’s Quort jester, someone who the LGBTQ Coalition leaders have selected for their work in planning this year’s Coming Out Week festivities. This year we’ve chosen a first-year who’s had a hand in almost every event this week and whose attitude has made all of our late nights a lot more fun: Harry Styles!”

Louis squeezed Harry’s side and pushed him forward, Harry stumbling a bit and looking around at the people clapping for him. He accepted the ridiculous hat that Eleanor put on his head and the rainbow balls that she handed him, looking around at the crowd of smiling faces surrounding him before doing a bit of juggling. Everyone cheered, and he let one of the balls bounce away as he took a bow and went to take his place beside Paul.

The rulers were announced-- two seniors who Harry knew only vaguely --and everyone cheered as the dance floor was cleared for the Quort dance. When the music started, Harry looked around until he saw Louis standing to the side, smiling at the ground with the ridiculous rainbow boa still draped around his neck and a pair of oversized sunnies stuffed into his pocket. Harry walked over and held out his hand. “Dance with me, Louis?”

Louis accepted, and Harry settled his arms around Louis’ neck as Louis put his hands on Harry’s waist, the two of them swaying in time to the slow song that the DJ had begun to play. Louis moved closer to Harry, leaning in to say something to him, and Harry held his breath nervously. “Loved your ball handling skills, Harold. Really surprising.”

Harry barked out a laugh, pulling Louis in a little closer. “I’m glad I impressed you. Might’ve been trying to, a little.”

“You don’t have to work too hard at it. Just keep doing what you’re doing and it’ll be you I’m coming to visit next time.”

Harry bit back a smile. It felt a bit like he was dreaming, having this gorgeous boy in his arms and flirting with him shamelessly. He found himself looking down at Louis’ lips hopefully, thinking of how they’d feel against his. Warm, probably, and a bit chapped, but not dry. He’d probably be a good kisser.

“Are you trying to work up the nerve to kiss me?” Louis asked, nuzzling in to Harry’s neck, his warm breath making Harry shiver.

“Might’ve been. But only if you’re asking because you want me to do it,” Harry said, turning his head so that his lips were within reach of Louis’.

“Go on then,” Louis said, his blue eyes reflecting the rainbow lights all around them. He licked his lips and moved in even closer to Harry, their lips almost touching, and Harry closed the distance, pressing his mouth against Louis’ gently at first, pulling back momentarily and then returning with more urgency. Louis was kissing him back, his kisses turning more heated, mouth opening and tongue meeting Harry’s softly.

Beside them, Harry heard someone say, “yeah, get it Harry!” but he did his best to ignore it, wanting to concentrate all of his energy on Louis-- kissing him, holding him, keeping him close --until the dance was over. Louis pulled away a bit and Harry leaned forward, chasing his kiss.

“Wanna go outside? Get some air?” Louis’ breath was coming fast, and Harry nodded, feeling breathless himself. They left the building and went to sit on some benches nearby, Harry pulling Louis close to him as if to protect him from the cold. They were about to sit when Liam called out for them to wait. He had his arm through Zayn’s and didn’t look as though he planned to release his hold any time soon.

“Louis, this is Zayn. Harry, you know each other,” Liam said, getting the introductions out of the way before he continued. “I was hoping you two might want to join us for food? Zayn said he knows an amazing place that serves breakfast all the time. Who wouldn’t want post-dance waffles?”

“Whoa, did I hear you say waffles?” Niall appeared out of nowhere, as he often did whenever food was mentioned. “Harry I think you owe me a meal since you absolutely ditched me for this guy.” He pointed a thumb at Louis, who turned to Harry with a shocked expression.

“How the tables have turned! Even Harry has a secret boyfriend,” Louis said, shaking his head sadly. “I should have known you were just like everyone else.”

“Louis, this is Niall, he was my friend date for the evening,” Harry said before turning back to Niall and giving him a playful punch in the arm. “And I think I saw him making out with no less than three people tonight, so I don’t think he was too hurt by my infidelity.”

“Ya got me there, Harry,” Niall said, beaming back at them proudly. He threw his arms around Liam and Zayn, insinuating himself between them. “Now then,” he said as he surged forward, dragging them along, “wey hey! Waffles for everyone!”

Harry offered Louis his arm. “Shall we?”

Louis grinned back at him, that crinkly-eyed smile lighting up Harry’s night. “With you, love? How could I say no?”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! 
> 
> I have one little note to add, which is that when Louis slips that hanky into Liam's back pocket, he absolutely knows what he's doing, which is having Liam flag as someone who's looking to give blowjobs. Oh, Louis. 
> 
> If you liked this fic, please [come say hi on tumblr](http://homosociallyyours.tumblr.com)! I'll have a fic post coming soon, so if you're reading this and looking for one please check back tomorrow. :)


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